Juice Report

There are not many things in the world more stressful than attempting to complete all of your Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. After struggling through the crowds to pick over the sparse odds and ends that are left in dozens of stores for the ideal present, eventually settling for a present that is “good enough”, and then waiting in line for an hour in an attempt to pay for that gift even a root canal job may seem preferable; after all, at least they anesthetize for that!

However, because of the busy agenda of individuals these days, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to get things finished ahead of the Christmas rush. After all, shops have established hours which in general inconveniently coincide with the time that most of the world’s populace has to be at work. (More than one individual has suggested that this is not, in fact, a coincidence).

Deliberate or not, it is hard for many individuals to do their shopping in a real shop. Because of this, virtual stores are on the increase as individuals enjoy the ability to do their shopping at any hour of the day or night from the relative comfort of their own homes.

Shopping on the Worldwide web does not, however, get rid of one of the most pressing problems facing Christmas shoppers, that is, deciding what the should buy. For years the jewellery industry has been doing its level best to provide shoppers with an opportunity to select a romantic present for that special individuals in their life, say, a ring, a necklace, a bracelet, a brooch or a tie pin. It seems as if there is always something for everybody in the world of jewellery, regardless of the individual or their personality.

However, giving the same gifts year after year can grow very monotonous and jewelry stores have to constantly fight to stay on top of the market. They are constantly coming up with trendy new products to draw in customers and they have done it again with the advent of silver card pendants.

Silver card pendants are pendants that attach to a card and can be worn as a necklace by the person who received them as a gift. That sounds effortless enough, does it not? The best thing is that without thought of who you are shopping for, there is a silver card pendant that is fitting for the occasion! Is your wife’s birthday coming up? Buy her a pendant with a romantic heart on it . Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and you have not even begun to think about what you are going to buy your beloved?

Buy her a pendant inscribed with “With All My Love Always” and give it with a card. Is your partner a new mum? Why not get her a pendant that permits her to slide in a photo of your new bundle of happiness and carry him or her with her wherever she goes?

As you can see, no matter what the situation, a silver card pendant makes the ideal gift. They can be bought from almost any online specialty retailer; you only have to do a search.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Romantic Gifts: Ideas. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

categories: romance,love,gifts,weddings,marriage,friendship,jewelry,gold,product reviews,family,society,happiness,stress management,other

More roses are sold in the few days before St. Valentine’s Day than in any other similar timespan in the year. Until not so long ago, people were mindful of the significance of the colours of roses (I am pretty sure that it did not concern other flowers too).

For instance, it would have been a serious faux pas to give a young teenage girl a red rose, but not a pink or a yellow one. All the colours had a significance. However, it is a bit like reading Tarot cards, not everyone agrees on those significances.

Anyway, out of interest and to keep the tradition going, I will give you the commonly accepted meanings of the colours of roses hereunder.

‘My love is like a red, red rose’, so goes the poem and when most people think of a rose, the first colour that in all probability comes to mind is red and, in fact, the word ?rose? comes from the Latin word ?rosa?, which means red.

It is also true that red roses are the most widespread and the most bought colour, but there are so many other colours that there is an entire lexicon of meanings that can be expressed with them.

Here are some colours and their meaning:

Red – Love, romance, beauty, obsession, desire and admiration

Burgundy – Unwitting loveliness

Red but withered – Our love is over

White – Purity, youth, pure love and virginal innocence

Pink – Happiness, appreciation, thankfulness and charm

Dark Pink – Thankfulness or thank you

Yellow – Joy, joy, companionship, delight or platonic love

Yellow with Red Tip – Falling in Love

Orange – Fascination, yearning, or enthusiasm

Red and White – (a bouquet of roses of two colours) – Passionate wholesomeness or unity

Peach – Sincerity, gratitude, appreciation, modesty, esteem, or sympathy

Lavender – Love at first sight or enchantment

Black – Death or our love is over

Blue – Unfeasible, unattainable or secrecy

Red Rosebud – Symbol of wholesomeness and beauty

White Rosebud – Girlhood or youth

Thornless Rose – “Love at First Sight”

Single Rose – Straightforwardness

Two Roses – An engagement or impending marriage

Rose Leaves – Sign of hope

Roses – Sent every month – beauty ever renewed

Regrettably, there no true black or blue roses in nature, as the pigment structures in the rose do not permit these colours to be developed, although it has not prevented gardeners trying for hundreds of years. However, there are some very dark purple roses, which are used in place of black roses. There are also some very pale lavender roses that seem to be blue, but have a shade of pink in them. Traditionally, blue roses are usually white roses dyed.

No matter what you want to express with your flowers, a bouquet of roses can articulate your emotions. So next time you give a bunch of roses, why not try to convey what you want to say by choosing the colours carefully. The recipient probably will not comprehend these day, but you could send them a copy of this article or have fun explaining the meaning to them over a bottle of wine.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with valentines Day Gift Baskets. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas

The practice of giving and wearing a wedding ring dates back thousands of years. A wedding ring symbolizes faithfulness and love between two people and are given on the day of a couple joining forces. Before the time that the skill of how to work metal became extensively known, people used such things as plants, grass and even hair to ‘tie the knot’, which is what I think a wedding ring stands for.

These days a normal wedding ring might be made from precious metals such as gold, titanium, platinum or even white gold. Women’s wedding rings often hold a diamond, although sapphires are quickly becoming more prevalent. Men’s wedding rings are often just a plain band of gold. There are many distinctive styles of wedding rings, but the most popular for men is definitely the plain gold band.

For those who want something a bit more flamboyant, there are plenty of examples on the market. A man might want a more ostentatious wedding ring, because it is often the only piece of jewellery that a man wears. Some alternatives to the plain band of gold are the Celtic Knot and the Claddagh gold rings.

It is essential for men’s wedding rings to be made from a robust alloy of gold. Most men do manual labour of one sort or another, even if it is only gardening, so it is a lot to ask of a pure gold wedding ring to last thirty or forty years.

A 14 or 18 carat gold ring will probably manage it, but a 22 carat ring would not. It would just wear away because it is too pure and consequently too soft. Platinum or titanium are much harder, although most people prefer gold.

In most countries tradition dictates that people wear their wedding ring on their left hand, although in a couple of countries such as Germany, Russia and Norway, people wear their wedding ring on the right hand.

Some couples would rather have a unique wedding ring and that is not so hard to accomplish as it might first seem. The easiest way to personalize your ring is to have an inscription like names and a date engraved on it.

Another way, would be to buy a precious stone separately and have the jeweller set it into the ring for you. The best alternative though is to find a jeweller you can trust and have him or her make up a pair of matching rings to your own design. I have done that and it is not a lot more expensive than a good ring.

Wearing matching wedding rings is a notable experience. People see that your ring is ’something different’ and many people ask, where you got them from. It all goes to help make that special day unforgettable for ever.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

categories: weddings,marriage,love,dating,divorce,traditions,britain,family,culture,spirituality,religion,happiness,politics,other

I have a couple of questions for you first of all. Do you like chocolate? Or does it go deeper than that? Do you love chocolate are you what is called a chocoholic? And lastly, was that attitude fashioned by store-bought chocolate such as Mars Bars, Galaxy and Snickers?

I posed all those questions because, if you love chocolate and all you have ever eaten is store-bought chocolate, you have a real surprise waiting for you one day. A really agreeable surprise. One day you will taste gourmet chocolate and it will bowl you over. It will make you lament all those days of your life that you had not known it.

Gourmet chocolate is to a Mars Bar what fillet mignon is to a ham sandwich or what champagne is to cheap wine. It sounds as if I am running Mars Bars down and I guess I am in a way, but I do believe that they have their place in the hierarchy of the realm of chocolate, it is just not near the top and when you have tried gourmet chocolate, you will agree with me.

You will see the light and realize that maybe you used to eat store chocolate for the sugar rush and not for the chocolate, because the store variety is actually a very watered down version of the real thing. If you do not believe me, look at the contents list on the back of the wrapper.

Dark chocolate is created by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture. The U.S. Government calls this “sweet chocolate”, and demands a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European regulations specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. It does not sound very much, does it? (By the way, chocolate liquor is like lumpy gravy and if you pulverize the lumps and take away most of the fat, you get cocoa solids).

This is why European chocolate has a better reputation than American chocolate in general, although there are excellent gourmet chocolate makers in the USA (called chocolatiers; like a chef is to haute cuisine)..

Some inexpensive chocolates are even blended with wax and most bakery chocolate products have very little, if any, real chocolate in them! They contain mostly sugar of one kind or another and “partially hydrogenated palm oil.” On the other hand, gourmet chocolate will echo the quality of the ingredients, which includes high quality cocoa beans, no preserving agents or vegetable fats (other than cocoa butter) and sugar, which is also a preserving agent, should only be used in moderation.

Some chocolate is made from only one variety of bean, just like some wine is made from one kind of gape and some whisky is single malt, but most is made from a blend of several kinds of beans again lust like the cheaper wines and whiskeys. Fine chocolate has a far greater percentage of cocoa butter, and will be more highly refined.

Aficionados of gourmet chocolate are like connoisseurs of fine wines and single malt whiskies, they appreciate the object of their affection. In time, they can discuss the advantages of one bean or process over another. If you want to go down this route, you could join one of the many good gourmet chocolate clubs on the Internet

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Gifts. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas

Most people use perfume of one kind or another, whether its purpose is to mask potential body odour or just for fun. When I say ‘fun’, I mean ‘pleasure’ or to attract admirers, whether you aim to do anything about them or not. There are literally thousands of scents to choose from and they are priced from cheap to exorbitantly expensive. So, when there are so many choices, how do you know which ones are right for you?

There are a few rules of thumb that you can use as guiding principles to help you choose which perfume is right for you. First of all, you will have to know a little about the basic varieties of perfume available, before you can find out which brand of perfume will suit you the most.

So, you can begin by taking a look at the ingredients on the box. From these ingredients you can determine what type of fragrance is in the bottle. The basic varieties of fragrance are: light musk, natural scent, loud heady scent, floral fragrance, warm fragrance, bright cheerful scent and a few others.

You should get a small note book and make notes when you test perfumes in various department stores. Perhaps you will find musk too overwhelming for you or perhaps you do not want to smell like a garden flower. It is all very individual and personal. No one can say that you are right or wrong.

One’s body chemistry plays a huge part in why a will smell exquisite on your friend, but not so well on you. It is just a fact, that you cannot go by what smells good on someone else.

Scents that are made from natural substances such as flowers, herbs or spices and even fruit tend to smell warm and soft. Examples of this type or fragrance are gardenia and lavender. Musk, however, may be made to produce a delicate bouquet that lingers softly around you, but it can be strong and heady too.

You may discover that you like a scent, but that it is just too overpowering for you. If that is the situation, you may be able to get it in Eau de Cologne or Toilet Water, which are weaker in concentration. Other than that, you could use less or dab it on the underside of your clothing where it might not be subject to so much body heat and so will not evaporate quite so quickly.

If you go about selecting the right scent for yourself systematically, it could take quite some time to find something that is ‘Essence De You’, but it is well worth it. What is a year, when you can wear the for forty years? This is why I recommended getting a little note pad to keep in your bag before doing the rounds of the free trial counters in the department stores.

The salesgirls won’t mind, they will be pleased to show off their knowledge and be delighted that someone is taking a real interest in their merchandise. Then, once you have one, you could start all over again, if you enjoyed finding the first , but next time you will have a notebook full of suggestions.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with men’s perfume. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

The wedding dress is just about the most crucial item in the wedding ceremony except the vows and the rings. The bride wants to look her best and the groom wants to look his best too. A beautiful wedding dress will help the bride’s dream to look dazzling come true.

Therefore, it is imperative to select the wedding dress with care, as every bride knows. However, there are a few items that are not as clear as the wedding dress just looking beautiful and we will list the most important of these below.

Besides personal taste in fashion, the most important consideration has to be the time of the year. Which season are you going to marry in? What temperature is it likely to be? Could it rain? If it is likely to be cold, you ought to wear a heavier cloth than if it is likely to be hot. You might also permit the season to have an impact on the colours you wear, but that is a matter of personal taste. For example, winter colours might be slightly darker than summer colours.

Another vital factor when choosing the colour of the wedding dress is the skin colouration of the bride. This consideration is also true of the accessories. The bride will also need a head-dress, a veil, gloves and a bouquet, all of which should flatter the wedding dress and the bride’s hair and skin colouration.

Try to get a wedding dress that fits perfectly. This sounds obvious, but it is easy to think that you can make minor changes yourself later on. However, making alterations is not as easy as it sounds and you could end up making matters worse rather than better. In any case, you do not want to be worrying that a stitch you made will break or come undone at the wrong moment. It is far better to get a good fitting wedding dress than to get the precise colour that you want.

It is important to bear in mind the quality of the picture of the wedding dress, if you are buying or hiring from a catalogue or website. You also should leave plenty of time to be able to return the dress if you have to. The fact is that photographs are not always true to life and packers do make mistakes, so if your choice is not what you expected, when it arrives, you will need to have a couple of weeks to return it and receive a new one. Allow at least three weeks for the exchange; longer if you can.

White has always been the most popular colour for first time brides, but it is not a rule. Off-white or pastel shades look very good too and they will set you apart from the norm. Apple white or blush pink are very effective colours for a wedding dress, but as I said before, everything should be colour co-ordinated with the colour of the bride’s skin and hair and the bouquet, if you are dead set on carrying a certain bouquet of flowers, like, say, gardenias.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Celtic Knot rings. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

One’s wedding ring is often a person’s most important piece of jewellery, because of the huge significance that it has for its wearer. It is intended to denote the love that exists between two people. In most countries, the wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand – the ring finger, although in Norway, Germany and Russia, it is worn on the fourth finger of the right hand.

It is generally a good idea to have your finger measured by an expert, before buying an expensive ring, because fingers swell and shrink over the course of a lifetime and a good jeweller will know how much leeway to allow. If the change in the size of your finger is likely to be lasting, it is a good idea to have the ring resized, this is so that it will neither cut into you nor fall off your finger easily.

These days a lot of couples like to go shopping for wedding rings together, because they want to buy a pair of identical rings that both of them likes. However, it does not have to be like that. In fact it never was, because the man bought the ring for his fiancee as a surprise. So, if you do not have the same tastes, do not worry about it.

There are hundreds of designs to choose from and several kinds and qualities of metal too. Yellow gold is still the most popular, but there is white gold and specialist golds too like Welsh gold, which is very rare. Besides gold, platinum and titanium are very popular too.

A fast developing trend is for a couple to design or have designed a unique pair of wedding rings. At first, you would think that this would be very expensive, but it is not necessarily so. If you keep your design modest and the stones, if any, equally so, then the rings might only cost 10%-20% more than those off the shelf.

Gold is still the most popular metal for a wedding ring, but silver is starting to gain ground too, although it was always looked on as the poor cousin before. Likewise, diamonds are the still the number one stone of choice, but sapphires are also very popular nowadays. Or you could go for plain bands with something like a Celtic knot design.

Shopping for wedding rings can be enjoyable, but it is easy to go over the top and spend much more than you intended to. You could decide how much you can afford and stick to it, not that that always works either. Expect to pay a lot more for the bride’s wedding ring than the groom’s. This is because the bride’s ring usually contains diamonds, whereas the groom’s is often a plain band of gold.

You could further personalize your wedding rings with a dedication and a date. Personalized, or unique wedding rings often get handed down through the generations. Maybe, yours will too. Or, if you want to wear your grandmother’s handed-down ring, you could personalize it in some way, so that it is both old and yet something of you as well.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Celtic Knot rings. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

Most people have aspirations for the future. Some people plan out their lives in elaborate detail from an early age, while others just pray that their dreams will come true. I think that that depends on the attitude to life you have as much as your personality. I definitely remember that when I was a boy, some of the girls I knew were planning what they would do when they got married to so and so movie star.

They did not know much about marriage or what being married was like, they were just role playing, but some of those desires might have stuck.

None of the boys I knew thought about their future much at all. I did not either really although I knew that I wanted to go to university and travel after that. I studied French and German for three years and passed my exams.

After finishing university, I began working for an international firm and did some traveling. I have always liked jewellery although I do not wear a lot at the same time. I suppose I collect jewellery, but I like to wear it as well.

It was a custom of mine to buy a piece wherever I went, if I saw something I liked and if I could afford it. Anyway, I met a young woman while I was in America and I told her about my craze for collecting jewellery and rings in particular. I showed her a couple of rings that I had taken with me. One was a ring with a Celtic Knot design and another was an Irish Claddagh ring.

Anyway, we got on well and so she offered to take me to a jewellers that she knew. We went to a small back street jeweller, who had a choice of rings I had never heard of before. They were called Black Hills Gold Rings and they looked very distinctive. They have quite a range, including a lot of the common designs, but they also have a few kinds that I had never seen before. I was hooked and wanted one.

My friend really fell for a women’s wedding set. She had seen it in the window for months, but did not have anyone to give it to her. The engagement ring had two leaves and a grape cluster with a small diamond nestled in the middle of it, while the wedding band had two additional leaves and a grape cluster. This meant that when worn together, the two rings would fit together to surround the diamond completely. It was very beautiful.

I had to grant that it was very beautiful, but felt it necessary to point out that I had not known her long enough to propose. She was a good sort and did not feel offended. I bought a striking white gold ring with the Black Hills gold roses inlaid on the top two thirds of the band, leaving the bottom of the ring plain. It was a lovely addition to my collection. As for my guide, well, she did not get a ring, but I took her for an expensive meal and she seemed happy enough with that.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

The Theobroma Cacao or ‘the food of the Gods’ is what we all know as the cocoa tree. It’s origin can be traced back to South America’s rain forests, particularly to Central America, although historians are still debating over certain facts with regard to this tree.

It is suggested that the Mayans first grew the cacao tree in 300 AD, although others point to inadequate evidence that it was grown or at least harvested in around 3,000 BC. The Aztecs also used the cacao, but from about 1100 AD.

The chocolate (drink) that we all know today was called ‘xocoatl’. It was a very exclusive beverage that was made with cacao, chilies, anise seed, vanilla, corn meal and some other spices. It is believed that only royalty were allowed to drink it and then only from golden chalices, which were to be used for the purpose only once.

The cacao tree is very sensitive to its environment and it most often grows in the shade of the rain forest canopy. If only for this reason alone, chocolate lovers should join forces with the environmentalists to save the rain forests so that the cacaos will continue to exist.

This tree is unusual because its fruits grow directly on its branches and trunk; midges cause the pollination of the flowers during the night time.

The cacao tree is very productive, but not very fruitful. It can have in the region of 10,000 blossoms, but only about 10 to 50 of those will mature into fruits or pods. This is thought to be because the cacao tree can adjust the number of blossoms that will mature according to its ability to handle the energy loss of bearing fruit or pods.

The cacao tree regulates itself in this way to preserve its health. Too many pods might exhaust its energy so much that it could not survive a viral or insect attack or too many ripe pods might snap off its branches.

The cocoa beans grow within the pod, the fruit of the blossom. Harvesters wait for the pod to ripen. They will then break open the pods and take out the seeds, which are surrounded by a white pulp. This is thrown away these days, but it is thought that many years ago it was fermented into an alcoholic drink for ceremonial occasions. The beans are the source of chocolate, although there is plenty to do yet..

The seeds are very bitter at this point and it is for this reason that they will go through a process of fermentation for between three and seven days. This causes the seeds to go through chemical as well as physical changes. The result of this was used for the royal drink, the ‘xocoatl’.

However, to turn it into what we recognize as chocolate, the fermented beans need to go through several more procedures. Processes by the name of: drying, cleaning, roasting, grading, opening, separation, grinding and liquefying.

After liquefying, you have unadulterated chocolate in the form of chocolate liquor. This is sold to chocolate manufacturers and the good ones make high-quality chocolate from it and the bad ones adulterate it so much that it is hardly chocolate any more.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Candy. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

Everyone loves to take advantage of the reduced prices during the holiday sales. In fact, the best day to go looking for special offers is the day after the actual holiday is over.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and it is the busiest shopping day of the year. You will get huge savings, but you will have to get up early, be ready to queue and jostle.

Another example is jewellery and St Valentine?s Day. Many men buy their wives or girlfriends jewellery during this period as a St Valentine?s Day gift. However, in the weeks after St Valentine?s Day, you can save a minimum of 30% on the very same pieces of jewellery that were on sale a week before. This is a clear indication that we are being hood-winked on these holiday occasions and that we should wait until the actual holiday is over.

OK, it may not seem so romantic to wait, but it must be preferable to be able to get 30% more gold for your money or to give the same gift, and be able to go for a meal as well. If I were a woman, I know which option I would choose!

Or, instead of a nice silver or gold ring, you would be able to afford gold instead of silver or white gold instead of yellow. You could get a exquisite Celtic knot or a Claddagh ring instead of a simple band.

Striking Easter clothing is also expensive before Easter. However, why not buy the items you want after Easter and either make use of them next year or use them for parties, special occasions or church? You can save a bundle of money in this way, just by using a little forward planning.

In order to help cut down on how much money you spend on Christmas presents, why not try buying them all year long as and when you find something appropriate in the sales? How many times have you seen something in a sale and said to yourself: ‘that would be the perfect gift for so-and-so’? It is better to take advantage of these chances and keep the items aside for when the right occasion comes up.

Then there are those post Christmas sales as well. The Boxing Day sales are a great opportunity to pick up items that you can give as presents later in the year. And why not buy something for yourself too while you are at it? You can save a fortune on your favourite scents. Buy enough to last you the rest of the year!

You can make your funds go a lot further if you take advantage of the after holiday sales. Rely on serendipity. Buy opportunistically and you will not only save yourself a lot of money, but you will never be stuck for a present at the last minute either.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with theCeltic Knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in wedding rings too, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring